Altering Saturation Locally

When you use the Sponge tool, it is best to have two document windows open, each in a different mode.

The Sponge Tool

To display out-of-gamut colours (window 1)

• From the View menu, select Gamut Warning

Out-of-gamut colours will show as grey.

To open a second document window (window 2)

• From the Window menu, select New View
• From the View menu, select CMYK Preview

The preview simulates how the RGB image will look in CMYK.

The correct calibration and separation settings in the Printing Inks Setup and Separation Setup dialogue boxes must be in place for the above preview to be accurate.

To tile the document windows

Size and position both windows so they can be viewed together

To work with the Sponge tool in the window 1

• Select the Sponge tool
• From the Toning Tools Brushes palette, select a large, soft edged brush
• From the Toning Tools Options palette, select Desaturate and 20-30% pressure
• Click-drag over offending areas

Colours is progressively desaturated, removing the grey tinted areas as the colours fall into gamut.

• View window 2 to check that you are not under saturating the image too much
• From the View menu, select Gamut Warning to untick this command
• Close window 2

Tip: From the Display and Cursor Preferences dialogue box, select Brush Size to see the editing area the brush you have selected.

Erasing Parts of an Image

To erase pixels within an image

• Select the Eraser tool
• Click-drag

Erased areas expose the current background colour.

Tip: Use the Eraser as an alternative to the Paint, Pencil and Airbrush tools. From the Eraser Tool Options palette Mode pop-up menu, select an option and paint with the current background colour.

To smudge an image area

• Select the Smudge tool
• Click-drag

The tool will smudge an area by pushing image colour in the direction of the drag.

Retouching an Image Area by Cloning

Sometimes you will wish to remove defects within an image, such as litter on a pavement or a mark on a person's face, without leaving any evidence of your retouching.

Whilst it would be possible for you to use the paint tools for this type of work, results often tend to look artificial as they lay down flat colours. Fortunately the right textures can be achieved through a cloning process.

The tool which performs this task is the Rubber Stamp.

• Select the Rubber Stamp tool

The Rubber Stamp Tool

• From the Rubber Stamp Tool Options palette, select Clone (non-aligned)
• Find an area of the image you wish to sample
• Hold down Alt and click the centre of the area
• Click-drag over the defect

A cross hair will appear over the previously sampled area to assist in the retouching process.

Note: The non-aligned clone enables you to work repeatedly with the tool, regardless of how many times you take your finger off the button.

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